Rid Fleas From Your Dogs & Cats

We all know that fleas are one of the most common parasites affecting pet dogs. when you have a dog, inevitably at some point you will have fleas in the house as well. It is at this point that people seriously want to take steps to rid fleas.

The dog flea itself is very small and brown. These little insects jump very quickly and can be hard to kill. That, however is just the start of problems when you develop a flea infestation. Here we will find out a little more about fleas and what to do to rid fleas from your dog and house.

The adult fleas feed by biting your dog (or you or your other pets) and suck blood.The flea has a four-stage life cycle and can develop quickly from eggs to adult in the right conditions. When you consider that an adult flea lays hundreds of eggs each day and those eggs quickly become egg-laying adults themselves Then you can see how just one flea can become a big problem very quickly!

So what are the signs of dog fleas?

A dog with a fleas will tend scratch almost constantly, most frequently in these places: the ears, the base of the tail, the belly, and the the skin between its leg and belly.

The saliva rather than the bite will cause the itching, Occassionally dogs are allergic to the fleas saliva and with these dogs the bite can cause more severe irritation which will make the dog bite & scratch more causing bald spots, skin brekages and infectionsIt is important to check your dog by grooming with a special flea comb (available from vets, petstores or pharmacies). While you are combing his fur you may notice flea droppings – like tiny black pepper grounds. This can be confirmed by wiping the comb onto some white paper. The spoor should look red when smeared on the paper.

Even if your dog shows no eveidence of having fleas, you should prevent an infestation instead. If you are reading this article out of curiosity and there are not fleas on your dog, then this is what to do: Scheduled flea treatment is the best prevention. Use prescribed treatment products according to a calendar and stick to the schedule. Your vet will recommend the best product for your size and weight of dog.

OK, so if it’s a tad late for prevention and you notice that your dog does indeed have a flea problem, then it means that you will have a household problem very soon too, if you don’t have one already. Don’t panic, there are many ways you can deal with this – you will simply need to methodically follow through with your efforts to rid fleas. Also remember there is no shame in getting a flea infestation, it can happen to anyone with a pet.

You will need to treat your dog and his bedding. You will also need to treat all of the house – your carpets, bedding as well as fleas will be present throughout the house and yard.

After taking the necessary action to rid fleas from your pets and house, check your dog again by grooming to see if the problem is gone. Then start on the preventative treatments mentioned earlier.

There are one or two things to remember:

Flea treatments can be quite toxic, make sure that you have the right treatment for the size & age of your dog and do not use more than one type of treatment at any one time.

Treat all of the other animals in the house too – other dogs and cats.

Be consistent. If you get halfway through getting rid of the fleas and stop, then they will be back in full force again soon.

The war against fleas is win-able but you need to get the best possible

advice. At Poochdogs, there is a comprehensive how-to guide to rid fleas from your pets, your house, your life! Click on the highlighted text to get it today.

There is also a FREE e-book called ‘5 Myths of Dog Training’ available for you to download and keep at poochdogs.com which gets you started obedience training dogs

Get useful things to know about the topic of house train a dog – make sure to go through the site. The times have come when proper information is truly within your reach, use this opportunity.